tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64116122143681496522018-01-15T10:36:34.296-06:00Hungry BeansA blog about feeding our familiesTriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-28476318974349295222008-08-18T08:05:00.002-06:002008-08-18T08:06:06.622-06:00Back in OctoberLife is a bit crazy right now--have to plow through some deadlines. Looking forward to coming back in earnest in October!Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-18300794208501917592008-07-25T17:40:00.002-06:002008-07-25T19:04:46.226-06:00$100?<a href="http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/CanAFamilyEatOn100AWeek.aspx?page=3">Could you feed your family for $100?</a><br /><br />Our grocery bill hovered between $75 and $100 until this spring. But that doesn't include lunches for the kids or my husband during the week. And I eat leftovers for lunch about half the time and buy my lunch the other half. Then food prices went c.r.a.z.y. and we were looking at twice that sometimes. Twice! For seven dinners and oatmeal.<br /><br />When our CSA share has started up, the bill went back down below $100, but that's not counting a great deal of veggies we've already paid for.<br /><br />Maybe I'll start tracking grocery bills, along with the menu.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-63279159081505036462008-07-23T20:34:00.003-06:002008-07-23T20:57:45.905-06:00Turkey pesto burgersThis is barely a recipe<br /><br />1.25 lb ground turkey (that's the way Jenny-O packs it)<br />2-4 tablespoons pesto (or whatever you've got in the fridge)<br /><br />Mix together lightly. Pockets of pesto are okay. Make six to eight thin patties, indenting the middles a bit, and place them on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees, about 12 minutes. (You can press on the centers to tell when their done.) Reheat on a hot frying pan.<br /><br />Why a rimmed baking sheet? Because, depending on how you made your pesto, a lot of oil could come out of your burgers.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-64831517194399342312008-07-23T20:30:00.002-06:002008-07-23T20:34:50.453-06:0050.5 meals: Some observationsBecause I'm apparently in <a href="http://www.alphamom.com/hotspots/2008/07/activities-with-kids-twin-cities.php">a list-making mood:</a><br /><br />1. Man, we eat an awful lot of chicken and turkey.<br /><br />2. Sandwiches, unless they're pressed in the waffle iron, don't seem to go over well.<br /><br />3. Neither do soups. The Big Bean and I love pho, but that's far from a quick weeknight dinner, unless we get takeout. I love<a href="http://www.soupsong.com/rbeet5.html"> cold beet soup</a>. The husband likes it. The kids think I'm trying to put something over on them. Maybe I am.<br /><br />4. I usually cook way too much for dinner--too many dishes, too much of each. In truth, the kids fill up on lunch and snacks at school and the husband and I eat lunches that are plenty big. I need to get back to single dishes and to thinking of the evening meal as supper, something to tide us over until breakfast.<br /><br />5. But I like having lots of little dishes on the table, so that may never happen.<br /><br />6. And I like leftovers, because that's what I eat for lunch and what I'll probably start packing for the kids in the fall. So scratch all that.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-74826764036735031922008-07-22T07:20:00.005-06:002008-07-22T08:50:41.017-06:00Museum-worthy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eScme4oCtMc/SIXesb-4YYI/AAAAAAAAACs/9BENzxR8KYg/s1600-h/museumworthy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eScme4oCtMc/SIXesb-4YYI/AAAAAAAAACs/9BENzxR8KYg/s320/museumworthy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225827797640438146" border="0" /></a><br />From <a href="http://www.photofunia.com/">photofunia.com.</a> Via the inimitable <a href="http://angrychicken.typepad.com/">Angry Chicken</a>. I think everyone on the web is doing this very thing this morning.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-22653912436209095972008-07-20T14:06:00.002-06:002008-07-20T14:09:37.523-06:00What's on the menu this weekSaturday: Dinner with friends<br />Sunday brunch: Baked eggs, bacon, crostata, fruit<br />Sunday dinner: Big salad, salami, cheese, beet soup, rye bread<br />Monday: Just me and the kids: Freezer fun!<br />Tuesday: School carnival rescheduled<br />Wednesday: Quinoa salad, turkey burgers in lettuce wraps<br />Thursday: Sesame soba noodles with broccoli<br />Friday: Mac and cheese, veggies, challahTriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-36528705024862542752008-07-18T14:17:00.003-06:002008-07-23T20:56:57.434-06:0050.5, part V!Phew! It wasn't easy getting to 50. Maybe we don't actually eat 50 easy, tasty things. I actually think about a dozen of these are in heavy rotation for us.<br /><br />40. Tortilla roll-ups<br />Just like those cheesy hors d'oeuvres. You'll need a spread (cream cheese, salsa, Laughing Cow, whatever), some shaved or chopped veggies, some protein. Let the kids do the work.<br /><br />41. Spring rolls<br />Sounds complicated. Is not. You need spring roll wrappers. Some patience. A willingness to let go of perfectionism. Oh, and some combination of the following: rice noodles, shaved vegetables, thinly cut protein of choice. Soy or hoisin for dipping. Kids think they're magic.<br /><br />42. BLTs<br />Have you ever turned down a BLT? Turkey bacon can be good, too.<br /><br />43. Persian rice<br />This is not quick. But I must include it because it is one of our absolute favorite meals. Because we are not Persian, we usually eat this with turkey meatballs (the cumin and coriander kind), feta cheese, greens, and lots of plain yogurt.<br /><br />44. Edamame<br />This is for when I'm not hungry. Kids love to pop edamame out of their pods. Plus: protein and veggie in one. Maybe some rice and carrot sticks on the side.<br /><br />45. Chicken and biscuits<br />There are slow ways to do this and their are quick ways. The quick way involves leftover chicken and vegetables, a light white sauce (add sherry), and your favorite biscuit recipe or phyllo dough.<br /><br />46. Turkey tetrazzini<br />Not so quick. So good. I'll post the recipe sometime.<br /><br />47. Falafel in pita<br />I--gasp!--use a mix for this. (I also have a potato-based Indian-spiced veggie burger recipe. You can keep the mix in the fridge for a couple of days and fry them as you need them. But my kids don't like them. And they're not quick. So they don't qualify.)<br /><br />48. Roast turkey breast<br />Roast it on Sunday night. Slice it for dinner Monday and Tuesday. Serve with cranberry sauce all year round.<br /><br />49. Squash lasagna<br />No one in my family actually likes this. But I am convinced it is a good recipe nonetheless: Stir a pint of ricotta into a pint or so of pureed cooked squash (there's the problem for me, right there). Layer this mixture with parcooked lasagna noodles and grated parmesan. Bake until bubbly.<br /><br />50. Risotto<br />Clean out the fridge. Call it "special rice," if you must. If I were better at frying things, I would make arancini with the leftovers.<br /><br />50.5 Cold cereal. Because when the going gets tough, the tough aren't too proud to break out the Cheerios.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-62551692638732035832008-07-17T12:11:00.000-06:002008-07-17T12:11:00.337-06:0050.5 dinners, part 4!21. Sausage-white beans-hearty greens<br />Classic. Fry your sausage, stir in your chard or your kale, put the lid on, maybe add a splash of liquid, stir in your can of beans. Heat through. Serve tossed with spaghetti, on top of polenta, on top of corn bread, on it's own, as a soup...<br /><br />22. Waffle-iron grilled cheese<br />Sandwich bread + grated cheese + waffle iron. Add some mustard or pesto for the grown-ups.<br /><br />23. Big, hearty salad. Let the kids starve<br />Sometimes we just want to eat what we want to eat.<br /><br />24. Grilled steak and a table full of crudite<br />Cook the steak outside (I like flank steak, marinated in soy for however long you happen to have). Chop the veggies inside. Done.<br /><br />25. Grilled pesto chicken breasts<br />Keep these in the freezer: Pulse oil, basil, garlic, and salt in the food processor. Toss it in a freezer bag with some chicken breasts. Thaw and grill. (Tips: pound or butterfly the chicken breasts so they're even. Spread them out in the bag before you put it in the freezer, so they're easier to separate.)<br /><br />26. French toast<br />Yep. Breakfast for dinner again, kids.<br /><br />27. Butterflied chicken<br />Take a whole chicken, cut out the backbone. Whack it until it lies flat. Grill or roast at high heat. Way faster than a regular whole chicken.<br /><br />28. Pasta with potatoes and green stuff<br />Chopped potatoes go in cold water, boil for 5-10 minutes, add pasta, boil some more until done. Throw in green stuff (spinach, arugula, frozen peas) right at the end. Drain, toss with parmesan.<br /><br />29. Pasta with fresh tomatoes<br />Cook pasta. Chop tomatoes. Mix. Get fancy with basil, nice olive oil, fresh mozzarella, whatever.<br /><br />30. Sausage and tomato risotto<br />A little more complicated. If you know how to make a risotto, do that but replace the broth with crushed canned tomatoes in their juice thinned with water or broth.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-17230996162925990302008-07-16T12:44:00.000-06:002008-07-16T12:45:07.326-06:0050.5 dinners, part 3!21. Sausage-white beans-hearty greens<br />Classic. Fry your sausage, stir in your chard or your kale, put the lid on, maybe add a splash of liquid, stir in your can of beans. Heat through. Serve tossed with spaghetti, on top of polenta, on top of corn bread, on it's own, as a soup... <br /><br />22. Waffle-iron grilled cheese<br />Sandwich bread + grated cheese + waffle iron. Add some mustard or pesto for the grown-ups.<br /><br />23. Big, hearty salad. Let the kids starve<br />Sometimes we just want to eat what we want to eat. <br /><br />24. Grilled steak and a table full of crudite<br />Cook the steak outside (I like flank steak, marinated in soy for however long you happen to have). Chop the veggies inside. Done.<br /><br />25. Grilled pesto chicken breasts<br />Keep these in the freezer: Pulse oil, basil, garlic, and salt in the food processor. Toss it in a freezer bag with some chicken breasts. Thaw and grill. (Tips: pound or butterfly the chicken breasts so they're even. Spread them out in the bag before you put it in the freezer, so they're easier to separate.)<br /><br />26. French toast<br />Yep. Breakfast for dinner again, kids.<br /><br />27. Butterflied chicken<br />Take a whole chicken, cut out the backbone. Whack it until it lies flat. Grill or roast at high heat. Way faster than a regular whole chicken.<br /><br />28. Pasta with potatoes and green stuff<br />Chopped potatoes go in cold water, boil for 5-10 minutes, add pasta, boil some more until done. Throw in green stuff (spinach, arugula, frozen peas) right at the end. Drain, toss with parmesan.<br /><br />29. Pasta with fresh tomatoes<br />Cook pasta. Chop tomatoes. Mix. Get fancy with basil, nice olive oil, fresh mozzarella, whatever.<br /><br />30. Sausage and tomato risotto<br />A little more complicated. If you know how to make a risotto, do that, but replace the broth with crushed canned tomatoes in their juice, thinned with water or broth.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-51531498488753694102008-07-15T08:07:00.002-06:002008-07-15T08:09:54.932-06:0050.5 Quick Family DinnersThis is fun. Today I bring you items 11-20 on my list of 50.5 Quick Family Dinners You'll Love, Your Kids Will Love and You Wouldn't Be Embarrassed to Admit in a Man-on-the-Street Interview (cf: Dino Nuggets)... or something like that.<br /><br />11. Spaghetti a la Marcella<br />1 28 oz. can of tomatoes (nothing but tomatoes in there) + 1/3 stick of butter + 1/2 onion (not chopped). Simmer for 45 minutes. Pull the onion out. Toss with whole wheat spaghetti. (Marcella is Marcella Hazan, Italian cooking maven.)<br /><br />12. Pasta and stuff<br />You need some meat stuff, some vegetable stuff, some liquid stuff, and some pasta. Brown the meat stuff if it's raw (wait until the end if it's cooked), brown the vegetable stuff, but don't over cook, add the liquid (broth, canned tomatoes), simmer about five minutes. Stir in just-under-al-dente pasta, cook a little more. Got some parmesan? Add that.<br /><br />13. Chicken sausages<br />Tasty, relatively healthy, quick. Serve 'em in buns, wrapped in lettuce, wrapped in tortillas, sitting on a pile of polenta, or naked as the day they were born.<br /><br />14. Green spaghetti<br />Take whatever oddball green stuff you need to use up (We get fennel tops, garlic scapes, and pea shoots in our CSA box. These you have to boil for about 5 minutes.) or some non-oddball green stuff like arugula or basil (no cooking necessary). Throw it in the food processor with oil, salt, and parmesan for a quick and dirty pesto. Toss with spaghetti or whatever pasta you've got.<br /><br />15. Homemade pizza<br />This is so much easier than it sounds. Make the dough the night before--takes five minutes, I'll post the recipe some time--take it out of the fridge and preheat the oven as soon as you get home. Voila.<br /><br />16. Pizza on a baguette<br />Ooops. Forgot to make the pizza dough the night before.<br /><br />17. Chicken paillards<br />Thin meat cooks fast. Pound out chicken breasts with a skillet. Season and cook on a grill pan for a couple of minutes. Makes great sandwiches.<br /><br />18. Lazy spaghetti carbonara<br />Put water for pasta on. While the pasta boils, fry some bacon. No bacon? Then cut up hot dogs. As soon as the pasta is done, scoop out a cup of pasta water, drain it, toss it in the hot pan with the bacon, crack an egg in there (fast, fast, fast!) and stir. Top with lots of parmesan.<br /><br />19. Lazy mac-and-cheese<br />Pasta + white sauce + cheese = on the plate in 15 minutes.<br /><br />20. Papa's chili<br />I don't actually know how he does this. It involves a can of vegetarian chili, a can of beans, and a third can. There's no shame in that.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-27717761691841913492008-07-14T15:33:00.001-06:002008-07-14T15:33:00.715-06:00RevelationI just remembered we have leftover steak for dinner. This is making my afternoon so much better.<br /><br />It turns out we did have dinner at home last night, so: grilled flank steak with make-do chimichurri sauce in pitas, Big Salad with hakurei turnips, grilled pineapple, cherries. And I can have a complete reprise of the meal tonight, if I so choose. And I think I just might.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Make-do chimichurri sauce</span><br /><br />Toss in the food processor:<br />three big handfuls of arugula<br />two big handful garlic scapes, roughly chopped<br />one big handful roughly chopped scallions<br />salt<br />pepper<br /><br />While the processor runs, pour in a thin stream of:<br />good olive oil<br />fresh lemon juice<br /><br />(Why is this a make-do sauce? Because garlic scapes and arugula were in the CSA box, and parsley and garlic were not.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Big Bean: </span>Thumbs down<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Little Bean: </span>Are you kidding?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mama and Papa: </span>Who cares what the Beans think? Yum.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-73121731084874928682008-07-14T08:32:00.002-06:002008-07-14T08:45:48.157-06:0050.5 quick family dinners you'll love, your kids will love, and you wouldn't be embarrassed to admit in a surprise interview (cf: dino nuggets)Phew. That's a long name. We could just say 50.5 Quick Family Dinners. Why 50.5? Because, while I'm inspired by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/dining/02mlis.html?_r=1&amp;scp=1&amp;sq=101+Bittman&amp;st=nyt&amp;oref=slogin">Mark Bittman's 101 lists,</a> I knew I could never make it all the way to 101. So I decided halfway was good enough. Today, I give you 1-10.<br /><br />1. Bibimbap<br />Or, your own version of this Korean classic: rice topped with cooked spinach or any other vegetables, a fried egg, and the ketchup of the Asian world--Hoisin sauce<br /><br />2. Sicilian vinegar chicken<br />This is from Nigella Lawson: soften a whole mess of onions in a big pot, pile on chicken thighs, then more or less equal parts vinegar, white wine, and chicken broth. Simmer veeeerrry low for 40 minutes.<br /><br />3. Chicken tenders<br />Bread 'em and bake 'em, couldn't be easier.<br /><br />4. Roasted chicken legs<br />If you think of it, put them in buttermilk overnight. If you don't, oh well, bake them at about 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.<br /><br />5. Lettuce cups<br />Ground meat + fish sauce (not too much, in my house) + lime + salt + cilantro, serve it wrapped up in lettuce. You can also stir in rice noodles.<br /><br />6. Taco night!<br />Taco night! always has an exclamation point in my house. Do it right, with cumin- and chili-seasoned ground meat, or take just about anything in your fridge--leftover chicken tenders, leftover thighs, sausages, hot dogs, stew... we call that:<br /><br />7. Wrap up the leftovers<br />Anything can be wrapped up in tortillas. Anything.<br /><br />8. Pancakes and breakfast sausage<br />I say it's a treat for the kids, but we know who's looking forward to Breakfast night! most.<br /><br />9. Turkey mini-burgers<br />Why are they more fun when they're smaller? They just are. The trick is finding mini-buns.<br /><br />10. Turkey meatballs<br />Cumin and coriander are the tricks to tasty turkey. That's a trick from Romanian carnegila.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-66308503142142938972008-07-13T08:50:00.003-06:002008-07-13T09:04:13.588-06:00Further embarrassment -- warranted?I last updated the "This weeks' menu" feature in the sidebar exactly a year ago. How do I know it was exactly one year ago? The menus are almost identical:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2007</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday:</span> Birthday party<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunday: </span>Fish, grilled zucchini, lemon sherbet<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday: </span>Chicken fingers, cole slaw<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tuesday: </span>Cheesy pasta<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday: </span>Fennel pasta<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday:</span> School carnival<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday:</span> Taco night!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2008<br /><br />Saturday: </span>Birthday party<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunday:</span> Dinner with friends<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday: </span>Just me and the kids: hot dogs, zucchini cheese soup?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tuesday:</span> Chard, sausage, and white beans on polenta<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday: </span>Garlic scape pasta<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday: </span>School carnival<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday: </span>Shabbat: pizza<br /><br />So both menus are for the third week in July--our friend M's birthday, the school carnival, and zucchini in the CSA box. In fact, originally I was going to grill this year's zucchini on Sunday, with some flank steak, until we got the invitation to eat with friends.<br /><br />Pasta with pesto--fennel or garlic scape is a pretty typical CSA meal for us. And B must have been traveling this week in 2007, just like in 2008, because Monday and Tuesday look an awful lot like "just me and the kids meals." Also, our shabbat dinner rotations haven't changed much: still lots of taco night and pizza.<br /><br />So, embarrassed I've decided to jump back in and keep this updated after a year? Embarrassed I'm still feeding my family exactly the same way? Nah. No time for that.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-71942204031270449022008-07-11T11:59:00.002-06:002008-07-11T12:03:31.461-06:00EmbarrassmentI was never a Little House fan--not the TV series, not the books. But, living where I do, I had absorbed a bit of the Laura Ingalls Wilder background. Or thought I had.<br /><br />Apparently, when restless Pa moved the family to Walnut Grove, they did not move to <a href="http://www.walnutgrove.com/">California.</a>Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-2104503490291027732007-10-12T08:10:00.001-06:002007-10-12T08:16:31.955-06:00Everybody's talking about this<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/dining/10pick.html?em&amp;ex=1192334400&amp;en=5dd8c17d1ba41949&amp;ei=5087%0A">Picky eaters? They get it from you</a><br /><br />I'll weigh in: Yeah, they get it from you in more than one way. That pickiness might be genetic, but you know what's not? Cooking a different meal for every member of the family and changing your international flights because your kid likes rice. That's all you.<br /><br />I get such a kick out of the NYT coverage of families and parenting. What a strange little world these stories create, where the kids are everything and the hapless parents are seen saying things like, "You know that $5,000 vacation in Prague? We just had no choice but to turn it into a $10,000 vacation in Spain." I know it's not reality, but I like to laugh at it all the same.<br /><br />For the record, my kids are picky. And I don't give a damn. My job ends when I put dinner on the table. Someday they'll eat those vegetables I keep putting in front of them. They may be 25, but it will happen someday.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-59874085337254045452007-10-11T08:01:00.000-06:002007-10-11T08:04:13.573-06:00BrilliantI am totally <a href="http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2007/10/recipe-cheat-sh.html">stealing this idea.</a><br /><br />What recipes will I include? I think pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, granola, rye bread, two-hour baguettes, stir-fry sauce...<br /><br />What would be on your go-to, use-it-all-the-time, hate-to-look-it-up list?Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-89325661806412120022007-10-09T20:59:00.000-06:002007-10-09T21:12:42.068-06:00That cat in that hatI spent far more time than I should have this evening trying to pipe a ricotta mixture into fat little rigatoni. I gave up after a dozen or so, but that was 11 too many. Why? Because I'm desperately trying to interest the Big Bean in cooking and cooking with me. She talks a good game, but when it comes down to actual mixing and measuring, she's always got better things to do.<br /><br />So we borrowed three kids' cookbooks from the library and I told her she could pick any recipe, any one at all without eggs, and we would make it this week. What does she pick? She pores over the Japanese cookbook, the international cookbook, and the Green Eggs &amp; Ham cookbook and what does she zero in on? Cat in the Hat macaroni and cheese. Because we don't eat enough mac and cheese around here.<br /><br />But I promised. So, hopped-up m&amp;c it is.<br /><br />But, this evening, who's there standing on the chair next to me in his sweet, sweet apron, desperate to mix and measure and help and declaring himself my "pastry chef" [meaning "sous chef"]? Well, it's certainly not the Big Bean. And who declared in her uberpolite way, after tasting just one bite, "This is not for me, Mama." Yep. It was Herself.<br /><br />I'm too lazy to type up the actual recipe, but it goes something like this:<br /><br />Mash up a tub of ricotta with grated parmesan, minced shallots, and minced parsley.<br />Boil some rigatoni.<br />Pipe the former into the latter (hah!)<br />Make a white sauce<br />Mix the stuffed (hah!) rigatoni with the sauce, sprinkle with bread crumbs and broil.<br /><br />Big Bean: Thumbs down<br />Little Bean [aka Little Mr. Me Too]: Thumbs downTriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-24642448995890069372007-10-01T12:06:00.000-06:002007-10-01T12:11:59.578-06:00BRATzThat's bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. That's what "feeding the hungry beans" has meant around our house lately. Little Bean is on week three of a nasty bout of, eh, you know. I'm so sick of it I don't even want to type the word.<br /><br />But he has been granted a reprieve from this prison diet. Our pediatrician said, essentially, "It's clearly not working so cut the poor kid a break." She recommended one of those schmancy, highly advertised live-culture yogurts instead. And, darned if we aren't seeing a tiny bit of progress on the um... you know... front.<br /><br />After 4.5 years on the parenting front lines, I'm pretty inured to the disgusting stuff. I've just had it up to here with this round.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-37758331311930330082007-09-27T12:39:00.000-06:002007-09-27T13:06:37.919-06:00When I was braveWhen I was 22, I stood on top of a sand dune in Lithuania and said aloud, "The world belongs to 22-year-olds." I was wearing my only pair of shoes, the only ones I needed. I had friends. I had a train ticket and enough money leftover from a fellowship to cover gritty hostels for a while. I had a job in a new city. No apartment, but a roommate. No health insurance, but a parental safety net. All the freedom in the world -- literally the world -- and almost no responsibility.<br /><br />I was brave. That was the year, or the next, that I knit myself a dress. I wasn't an accomplished knitter. I didn't have a pattern. I had never done lacework. I didn't know, in fact, that I was doing lacework. But I had a stitch dictionary, a lot of time spent on trains and buses, and a need for a dress to wear to a wedding in France with an English boy I had just kissed. So I made a dress. I finished it a few hours before the early-morning taxi pulled up to take me to the airport.<br /><br />That was also the year I founded a magazine. With someone else's money, of course, but my own and a friend's sweat and tears. (No blood, although I did grind a bone in my foot into powder while pounding the streets in wooden clogs. Thank god for parents willing to pay for surgery in the American-run hospital.)<br /><br />I still have the dress. It doesn't fit anymore, but that's not why I get nostalgic when I take it out. I would no more knit a lace dress without a pattern today than I would found a magazine.<br /><br />I can't pinpoint when bravery -- or foolhardiness - lost out to caution. But there were seeds of it even then. Stories I didn't write, jobs I never believed I would be qualified for, paths I thought were already closed to me. I was learning to sell myself short, but I didn't yet know what I couldn't do.<br /><br />That sounds maudlin. And I'm not. I wouldn't go back to being 22. I'm just glad I acknowledge how good it was at the time.<br /><br />What does this have to do with feeding my kids? No idea. Where did all the nostalgia come from? I'm pretty sure I know: Yesterday at the Y I forgot my towel and had to dry off with my shirt. Ah! Good hostel-y times.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-12396765375931405032007-09-27T08:07:00.000-06:002007-09-27T08:31:41.452-06:00An inconvenient truthI uncovered a deeply perpetrated fraud last night: convenience foods.<br /><br />We were headed home after work, a car full of chattering preschoolers (two of them and their chatter fill up the car). Dinner was to be chicken cacciatore, but I hadn't cut up the chicken yet. I'm really not good at cutting up chickens. A friend was coming over for dinner, so I couldn't resort to our usual can't-face-cooking fall-back: cereal and yogurt. So I thought, "Hey, I'll swing by the grocery store and pick up something to throw in the oven. Yeah! People do that all the time. That's what that deli counter is for. And the freezer case. It'll be great."<br /><br />"Swing by" -- that was my first mistake. Nobody swings by the grocery store with two tired, hungry kids at 5:30 in the evening. We escaped with a poorly chosen lasagna, a greasy potato dish, and a salad about half an hour and way too much money later. Turns out the lasagna wanted 45 minutes in the oven (I should have guessed that). Heck, I could have cut up that chicken and made the dang cacciatore in 45 minutes. So I followed the microwave directions, breaking my no-heating-plastics rule and turning the cheese into a hardened, plasticky mass. The potatoes went into the oven, where the grease separated out into great, globby pools. Dinner was on the table 15 precious minutes after it normally is.<br /><br />The Little Bean had a breakdown and had to be tossed into bed early.<br /><br />The Big Bean's verdict: "These potatoes are great, Mama!"<br /><br />Thanks, kiddo.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-55473454619613523212007-09-25T07:26:00.000-06:002007-09-25T07:30:23.737-06:00And the boobs bring me backWhat brings me out of blogging hybernation? Boobs. Specifically the lactating kind and the babies who love them -- to the exclusion of all else. <a href="http://mom-101.blogspot.com/">Mom-101</a> has a refusenik and went looking for advice. Which she got -- heaping frozen bags of useless breastmilk of it. Not that I have any experience of it. And each piece of that advice, like all the advice we got, contradicts another sage piece of advice that worked for somebody else.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-87443993248712450502007-07-25T14:19:00.000-06:002007-07-25T14:19:04.088-06:00Kids these days<a href="http://www.slashfood.com/2007/07/25/seven-sins-of-dining-out-with-kids/#comments">Seven Sins of dining out with kids - Slashfood</a><br /><br />You'd think the French Laundry were overrun with unruly brats, the way some people love to rant on and on about how their dining experiences have been ruined by the contemporary scourge of kids in restaurants.<br /><br />Perspective, please.<br /><br />I've lost count of the number of places this argument has been hashed and rehashed.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.megnut.com/2006/09/babies-and-the-tipping-point">This was a memorable discussion</a>, however, from a slightly different point of view.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-17835864906094343782007-07-23T12:31:00.000-06:002007-07-23T12:37:09.106-06:00Life is risky<a href="http://www.megnut.com/2007/07/how-i-ate-while-pregnant">How I ate while pregnant -- megnut.com</a><br /><br />So reasonable! And no less than I would expect from the very reasonable Meg Hourihan (thanks to whom we now have blogger -- thanks, Meg!).<br /><br />It wasn't hard for me to avoid sushi, rare meat, or raw dairy while pregnant. They're not part of my regular diet and, yeah, it's only nine months.<br /><br />My risk-aversion, however, was truly tested when it came to coffee and alcohol. I went cold turkey with my first, giving up my daily caffeine from the moment that line turned pink. And, holy mother of all caffeine headaches, I have never been in so much pain in my life. Scratch that. I <span style="font-style: italic;">had</span> never been in so much pain in my life. Then the baby came.<br /><br />With the second, I did some research, I did some math, and I figured -- you know what? -- One cup of coffee a day and the occasional glass of wine in the later trimesters weren't going to hurt anyone, my precious fetus included.<br /><br />So glad I did.Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-11181766382703737112007-07-17T19:32:00.000-06:002007-07-17T19:39:45.646-06:00Sour toothI'm not saying I don't like sweets. I'm a fiend for baked goods and tend to crave an M&amp;M or two right after lunch. But my favorite flavors are sours -- like the fresh acid of lemons and the yeasty warm sourness of buttermilk.<br /><br />I also love ice cream. So, voila: <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105187">Lemon buttermilk sorbet</a><br /><br />Easiest frozen dessert you'll ever make. And egg-free.<br /><br />Big Bean: thumbs up<br />Little Bean: hearty thumbs upTriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411612214368149652.post-42234762634686966712007-07-15T20:40:00.000-06:002007-07-15T20:56:07.823-06:00At least they comped our ticketsNo Ratatouille for me. I did get to see the first ten minutes or so. And then a little voice piped up from beside me: "I'm ready to take a little break out in the lobby, like you said we could."<br /><br />So we sat in the lobby, eating popcorn and listening for what sounded like a pretty exciting sequence to end before we gave it another try. We sat back down just as Remy found his way into Gusteau's kitchen. The poor rat gets stepped on, nearly drowned, nearly baked with a chicken, nearly burned under a gas stove -- totally harmless and fun from an adult's point of view, but too intense and scary and fast-moving for my delicate Big Bean. This time the little voice came from the vicinity of my sternum, where her face was buried.<br /><br />Apparently four-and-a-half is a little too young for Pixar.<br /><br />Too bad. I was hoping my aspiring pastry chef would be inspired. I had talked it up by comparing it to <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMice-Bistrot-Sept-Freres%2Fdp%2F0974930369%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1184554302%26sr%3D8-1&amp;amp;amp;tag=hungr-20&linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&creative=9325">The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Freres</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hungr-20&amp;amp;amp;amp;l=ur2&o=1" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /></span>, which she loves.<br /><br />And no ratatouille for me: No eggplant or tomatoes in The Box yet. But we did get our first zucchini this week. Time for me to upload the last few weeks' photos, no?<br /><br />We did get the first basil and I know green beans must be on their way. You know what that means: Soupe au pistou!Triciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06888622370869204571noreply@blogger.com0